EA’s time with theStar Warslicense has been very tenuous for some fans, largely due to the company’s lack of content over the past decade and some controversial business practices that have not been received well. Between all of the fan outcry, however, there have been a couple of EAStar Warsgames that have proven to be pleasant surprises. One such game isStar Wars: Squadrons, EA Motive’s take on the iconic starship gameplay that was pioneered bytheRogue Squadronseriesand games likeStar Wars: TIE Fighter.
Star Wars: Squadronssurprised a lot of fans and critics when it was released last year, as it managed to create aStar Warsexperience that also doubled as an impressive flight simulator game. Motive created a solid foundation forSquadrons, but many fans agree that the game’s core content offerings were rather slim. With a short campaign and few multiplayer options, there wasn’t much to do inSquadronsonce the credits rolled. That being said, a sequel based on Squadrons' immersive mechanics has serious potential, and EA could take the same route it did when approachingStar Wars: Battlefront 2.
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Expanding Star Wars: Squadrons To Other Eras
When looking at EA’s approach with 2015’sStar Wars: BattlefrontandSquadrons, essentially the same exact thing happened. To the dismay of many,Star Wars: Battlefrontonly focused on the original trilogy era of films. While this was a great dose of nostalgia for some fans, for others it quickly got tiring, as there was only so much the game could do when restricted to a fraction of the franchise’s characters and locations. When it came time forStar Wars: Battlefront 2, EA listened to fans and included content across all three eras ofStar Wars, which satisfied many gamers and provided exponentially more to play through.
Star Wars: Squadronsalso only focused on one era ofStar Wars, and while this may seem like a more focused approach,Star Wars: Battlefront 2has shown that EA is more than capable of creating expansiveStar Warsexperiences. Just asBattlefront 2introduced prequel and sequel content, aSquadronssequel could bring in more iconic ships across eras that take advantage of the original’s mechanics. With how widethe galaxy ofStar Warsis, there really is no need to restrict a game likeSquadronsto one corner. Further, with EA at the helm, it’s not like a sequel wouldn’t have the resources to be bigger and better than the original.
Creating A Deeper Star Wars: Squadrons Experience
IfStar Wars: Squadronsdid get a sequel, it could also use a general diversification of gameplay, regardless of any era expansions. Looking back toEA’s firstBattlefront, another common complaint was the fact that there was no story whatsoever, and worthwhile multiplayer offerings were rather slim.Battlefront 2remedied this by adding a story and more satisfying multiplayer, and it’s here whereSquadronscould learn a thing or two.
WhileSquadronsdid have a decent campaign, it was surprisingly short compared to what most fans would expect from aStar Warsgame. On top of that, multiplayer modes were not all that varied and could get tiring very quickly. If aSquadronssequel went to otherStar Warseras, it could practically triple the amount of potential story content. Reworking multiplayer modes could be a little more complicated, but just giving players the option to fly in more unique fighters with friends would be a big enough improvement on its own.
Star Wars: Squadronsmay not have landed with the same splash as some ofEA’s otherStar Warscreations, but it still had an exceptional foundation for aStar Warsgame based in flight simulator mechanics. With all of the work Motive put into refining every aspect of gameplay, it would be unfortunate to not see that followed up with a sequel.Battlefront 2has shown that EA is capable of making significant improvements based on fan feedback, so hopefullyStar Wars: Squadronswill get another chance to shine sometime in the future.
Star Wars: Squadronsis available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
